When you garden is flourishing you may find yourself with a large crop of peppers. From hot and spicy to tender and sweet peppers have a wide range of colors, flavors, and uses.

This is the perfect time of year for using fresh peppers but it is also the perfect time to save them for long cold winters. Grab a basket and go harvest those beautiful papers.

Simple ways to use fresh peppers

Peppers have nearly unlimited uses limited by only your imagination.

Sliced bell peppers are perfect for making fresh omelets.

Slice into pepper rings and place an egg in the center for an easy flavorful breakfast. This is a great way to make a colorful breakfast for the kids.

You can chop them up and toss them into your favorite omelets.

For the best brats, you can toss brats into your instant pot with sliced peppers and onions for 10 minutes before popping the brats on to the grill. It will add more flavor and your brats will always come out cooked through.

Use chopped peppers in your fajitas to add flavor or add to other savory dishes.

Sweet peppers are great for snacking on raw or tossing on the grill for a quick side dish. Chop and add to your favorite dishes for a kick of flavor. Sweet peppers make a great addition to your favorite salad.

Have some flavorful hot peppers out of the garden? Add some kick to your favorite dishes. Hot peppers are great for spicing up Mexican and Indian dishes or adding flavor to grilled.

If you also have some fresh tomatoes from your garden, make salsa. You can use all sorts of peppers in salsa. The spicier peppers will make the salsa have more of a kick, the more mild peppers will make a mild salsa.

How to store fresh peppers

Bell peppers and sweet peppers are amazing for so many dishes and they make the perfect easy addition to omelets. Freezing peppers in slices or diced chucks is super easy. Simply wash, cut, place on a cookie sheet, then freeze before transferring to a freezer bag. When you’re ready grab them out and toss what you need into your dish and cook.

Canning is a great way to save peppers for later and there are so many options for saving them. Any pepper can be canned in the same method as green beans. Jalapenos are great for making into a spicy jelly that will get anyone up and going on a cool winter day. If you love spicy peppers you will love cowboy candy as a fun way to can your peppers. Make sure to can some peppers and tomatoes together for your favorite winter chili.

If you have a dehydrator you have the best tool for saving peppers you plan to use for flavoring meals. Dehydrating peppers really concentrates their flavor and makes them last for a longer period of time.

Most peppers dehydrate just fine being sliced and not blanched but if you wish to dehydrate them fully your best bet is to blanch them just like you do tomatoes for freezing.

After dehydrating you can choose between leaving as they are for use in cooking and snacking or you can choose to crush your peppers to make a cooking spice like crushed red peppers.

Let me know your favorite way of using your garden peppers in the comments below.